What Are You Staring At?
by Rhizer
Summary: Insecurities can get the best of us all. One minute they're enjoying lounging around in the sun together next minute Beca is left standing alone in the quad wondering what the hell just happened.


**Chloe: "Beca what are you staring at?"**

Honestly Beca didn't know what she was staring at, well she knew it was Fat Amy what she couldn't figure out was what the hell she was doing. So she was staring with her mouth slightly agape as Amy kind of just flopped around on the ground like a fish out of water.

Looking over her shoulder Chloe scanned the grass quad intent on finding what had her girlfriend so intrigued that she couldn't maintain their conversation. Spotting what she assumed Beca had been gaping at Chloe felt her stomach turn. The college cheer-leading team were out practicing their routines, in barely there outfits. Now Chloe isn't in any way insecure about her body, she works hard to look this good and if anything she's damn proud of how her hard work has paid off, but when her girlfriend is blatantly checking out stick figure cheerleaders in front of her she can't help the doubt that creeps up. Doubt that rapidly turns into anger. Anger directed at Beca because how dare she make her feel insecure about herself.

"Take a picture it'll last longer." Chloe mutters.

Beca laughs. She actually freaking laughs at the comment.

"I dunno I don't think a camera could truly capture all that beauty." She smirks turning back to Chloe eyes twinkling.

Chloe huffs, grabs her bag and moves to get up. She needs to get away before she starts something she can't or doesn't want to finish.

"Chlo?"

Turning away Chloe starts walking back to her on campus apartment. Quickly snatching up her things Beca scrambles to follow her.

"Chloe wait up!"

Catching up Beca tugs on her hand causing her to stop. Beca steps in front of her so she can see her properly. Searching her face worriedly she asks.

"What's going on? Where are you going?"

She's never been one for conflict, she prefers to avoid it if at all possible. It's part of the reason she let Aubrey have so much control over the Bellas for so long. So clenching her jaw Chloe forces out an excuse wanting to avoid a fight especially in such a public place.

"I have an essay to write."

"Ok we can go back to my dorm like we were planning, you can write your essay and I'll work on my mixes?" Beca questions hopefully.

"I left my book back at my place." Chloe states trying to subtly pull her hand out of Beca's.

"But I thought you grabbed all your books this morning?" Beca replies confused, brow furrowing at how closed off her girlfriend was being.

"Must've forgot one."

"Well maybe I could study at your place? I could give mixing a break for one night. Or we could just not study..." Beca trails off smirking, leaning in closer and giving Chloe's hand a little squeeze.

"Jesus Beca just back off would you!?" Chloe snaps causing Beca to take a step back in shock. Ripping her hand out of Beca's grasp she throws it up between them defensively to keep Beca at bay.

"Not tonight ok!? Just give me some space!" She barks, brushing past her girlfriend to hurry back to her apartment. Leaving behind a stunned Beca trying to work out what part of their nice afternoon of lounging around outside suddenly made Chloe want to avoid being anywhere near her.

* * *

**Later that evening:**

_"Hey this is Chloe I can't get to the phone right now so leave a message and I'll get back to you." _

Beca let her head fall back against the wall with a thump. Sighing she closes her eyes as the familiar message was recited once again.

_Beeeeeeppp._

"Hey Chlo it's me, Beca...again. I know you said you wanted space but can you please just call me?...Please?..." Sighing again she ends the call, throwing her phone to the other end of her bed to avoid calling her for the hundredth time.

Beca had spent the whole evening going over and over everything that had happened leading up to Chloe practically running away from her. She went through her mental list of every possible anniversary, birthday or any other significant dates in case she had forgotten something but still she couldn't piece together what had made Chloe so upset.

For the sake of her sanity she pulls on her headphones to try and drown out her thoughts for a little while, who knows maybe she'll switch off long enough to get some sleep.

* * *

**Several hours later:**

Groaning Beca rolls over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She hadn't got any sleep. She had to ditch her headphones after the first hour, she'd just been nodding off when Titanium started playing, knocking any chance of sleep out of her. She tried skipping the song but every song that followed seemed to remind her of Chloe and that made her feel way too much like an angst ridden teen for her liking. From the last couple of hours she's been laying here waiting and hoping for exhaustion to set in. Even that doesn't seem like it's going to come any time soon, not with her head still buzzing with thoughts of Chloe.

"Dammit." She mutters to the dark room.

Reaching out she gropes around on her desk searching for her phone. Her brow furrows when she can't feel the device before realizing it would still be where she threw it earlier, at the bottom of her bed. Sweeping her foot around through the sheets trying to find it she manages to smack her toe on the corner of the phone causing her to hiss out in pain.

"Ow fuck."

Reaching down and grabbing it she presses the home button to check the time, realizing too late what a mistake it is to hold a bright light so close to your eyes in a dark room. Snapping her eyes shut she wills the stinging to stop before cautiously cracking one eye open to look at the screen.

11:37pm.

No new messages.

'Screw it.' She thinks before swinging her legs off the bed. Quickly she pulls some sweats pants and a hoody on, grabbing her keys and phone and sets out across campus to Chloe and Aubrey's apartment.

She ends up jogging most of the way there. Unwilling to waste time walking through campus alone in the dark.

She doesn't hesitates before pounding on the door, having gotten even more worked up on her way to the apartment.

The door is ripped open but not by the person she wants to see.

"What do you want?" Aubrey snaps.

"Where's Chloe? I need to see her." Beca replies pushing past Aubrey.

Aubrey's head whips round.

"Aca-excuse me?! No you need to leave."

Beca ignores her in favour of heading towards Chloe's room but finds her way blocked by the angry blonde.

"Oh no, no you don't get to just waltz in here after what I had to deal with all evening!"

"Well I'm sorry but I'm here now to fix it. Whatever it is..." She trails off.

"You're seriously going to come barging in here when you don't even know what's wrong?!"

"Of course I don't know what's wrong! One minute we were fine the next she's running away from me! So no I don't know what's upset her but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try and make it better."

"You've got a lot of nerve..."

"Bree." A voice cuts her off. Aubrey turns around to face her roommate who shakes her head ever so slightly. Aubrey bristles.

"Fine." She says turning back to Beca to give her one last scathing look before walking off to her bedroom. Chloe watches her go, once her door is shut her eyes flick back to Beca before turning around to enter her own bedroom.

"Chloe." Beca says following her expecting to be shut out again but Chloe surprises her when she doesn't attempt to close her bedroom door. Taking it as a sign Beca steps into the familiar room closing the door behind her. When she turns around Chloe is standing at the end of her bed refusing to look at her, instead staring at the wall in front of her.

Sighing Beca realizes that it's going to up to her to start the conversation.

"Chlo...Can you please at least look at me?"

"Please just tell me what's wrong."

"_Don't_ pretend you don't know why I'm upset Beca Mitchell!" Chloe snaps rounding on her.

"_Who's pretending!?_ I've spent the entire evening racking my brains trying to figure what I could have possibly done to upset you but still I'm drawing a blank. In the space of about five minutes we went from a nice afternoon together to you walking away from me without an explanation. So just tell me what I did so wrong that my girlfriend feels the need to run away from me?!"

"You want me to spell it out for you? Fine! I'm upset because I don't like it when my girlfriend checks out other women and I really don't like it when she does it in front of me! It's like you didn't even care that I was there!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"I'm talking about those cheerleaders you were so blatantly staring at today in the quad!"

"What cheerleaders?! I wasn't staring at any...The only thing I was staring at in the quad today was Amy flopping around on the ground like a fish."

"Oh." Chloe breathes out sitting down on the bed behind her.

"You weren't staring at the cheerleaders?" She asks quietly.

"No, I wouldn't...I thought you knew me better than that?" Beca replies sitting down next to her.

Chloe slumps forward letting her head fall into her hands.

"Oh god I'm sorry. I'm so stupid, I was being insecure."

"You? Insecure? You're the least insecure person I know!"

"Maybe I'm just better at hiding it. Well at least I usually am." She mutters bitterly.

Beca gently takes her hands away from her face. "Chloe look at me." She says as she tries to catch her eye. Finally Chloe looks up at her, eyes glassy.

"You're gorgeous. Inside and out. Most of the time I don't even notice the other people around us let alone check any of them out because I'm too busy staring at you, wondering how on earth I got so lucky."

Chloe gives a small smile but doesn't look like she believes her. Leaning in Beca kissed her softly. Chloe's eyes flicker shut.

"You're beautiful." Beca whispers. _Kiss._ "Stunning." _Kiss._ "Kind." _Kiss._ "Smart." _Kiss._ "Sexy." _Kiss._ "Charming." _Kiss. _"Passionate." _Kiss._ "Adorable." _Kiss._ "Mesmerizing." _Kiss._ "And I'm so in love with you."

Chloe's eyes snap open.

"You..."

"I love you Chloe Beale. Every part of you."

Chloe stares at Beca in shock for a moment before she snaps out of it and wraps one hand around the back of Beca's neck, pulling her in to kiss her _hard._ She tries to convey how happy she is in that kiss, to hear Beca say those words after they'd been dancing around them for weeks. She'd resigned herself to thinking that Beca might not be as in the relationship as she was.

Pulling back she finally replies.

"I love you too."

Neither of them are able to stop the cheesy grins that spread across their faces.


End file.
